It's still quite cold in Ottawa. So, are you in the mood for some delicious hot chocolate? In my view, if you're seeking to get the best hot chocolate in Ottawa, here's what you do. Go to Lansdowne Park. More specifically, go to Lindt in Lansdowne Park, and ask for the 'intense dark hot chocolate'. If you can find a better hot chocolate in Ottawa, please tell me.This hot chocolate is rich, smooth and flavourful. It boasts the same high quality dark chocolate t

Date: 03 March, 2018.
Place: Sault Ste. Marie, Province of Ontario, Canada.
Early this month, a very strange event was reported in the small city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
According to an anonymous testimony published on Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) online database, a local resident allegedly saw two star-like objects hovering over the Canadian town.
“I was looking the stars with the naked eye, since the night was very, very clear. I was looking at the Big Dipper, and I noticed that t

The world remembers Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) as Physicist philosopher, the cosmos hero who wrote a worldwide publishing phenomenon A Brief History of Time. Professor Hawking entered Cambridge University in 1962 and embarked on the research project of theoretical physics, cosmology and elementary particles. "To me, mathematics is just a tool with which to do physics" and while making a mention of egg and chicken formulae Hawking writes Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Universe

Private car buyers advise everyone else: Get consumer protection

(NC) -- More than one-third (37 per cent) of Ontarians say they bought their last used vehicle privately because they thought they'd save money.

But consumers who buy from a private seller lose the benefit of Ontario's consumer protection laws – they only apply when purchasing from an OMVIC-Registered Dealer. However, among avid private purchasers, 63 per cent would advise others to buy from an OMVIC-Registered Dealer to get protections they willingly forgo.

“It's a case of do as I say, not as I do,” muses Terry O'Keefe, OMVIC Director of Communications and Education. According to OMVIC, the provincial vehicle sales regulator, this interesting contradiction is one of several to emerge from a poll it commissioned of 503 Ontario used vehicle buyers conducted in August 2014 by Vision Critical.

The additional danger of purchasing from a curbsider, an illegal, unlicensed dealer who often poses as a private seller, does not dissuade some die-hard private buyers. In fact, 65 per cent of them would still buy privately, despite advising family and friends otherwise and even though 41 per cent only answered “maybe” when asked if they could recognize a curbsider.

So what might motivate a committed private purchaser to change their ways and buy from a registered dealer? For 34 per cent of those surveyed, only a bad experience would do it.

“There seems to be a disconnect – private buyers want others to get protection but willingly forgo it while not being completely armed with information they need to protect themselves,” says O'Keefe. “And we know that curbsiders are lurking in classified ads, waiting to pounce.” OMVIC's website lists many charged and convicted curbsiders. “This alone shows that buying privately comes with significant risk.”

So what's the smart approach? “No matter where you make your next purchase, get informed and ask the right questions,” says O'Keefe. “Finally, understand that you're protected when purchasing from an OMVIC-Registered Dealer; you're not when buying privately.” For more on your car-buying rights and protections, visit omvic.on.ca.